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A SCIFI JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

March Comes in Like a Lion by Chika Umino, the bestselling comic that has swept numerous comic awards including the 4th Cartoon Grand Prize 2011 and the Grand Prize in the 18th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, has been made into a live-action film! The director is Keishi Otomo, who has been breaking new ground in Japanese cinema with his solid character portrayal and action scenes in such films as the RUROUNI KENSHIN (るろうに剣心, 2012-14) series and PLATINUM DATA (プラチナデータ, Puratina Deta, 2013). “I intend to capture the changing landscape of the city of Tokyo as it prepares for the Summer Olympics and depict the world of professional shogi, a Japanese mind sport from ancient times, in an engaging way. I’d like to make a work in which the characters that Ms. Umino created and nurtured come alive vibrantly in this setting,” he comments, indicating the birth of a new type of Japanese movie that can only be produced at this moment in time.

Set in Japan as it faces a historic turning point leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, the first of the two-part work will tell the story of “today” as the protagonist finds the strength to stand on his own two feet, and the second will tell the story of “tomorrow” as he begins to live a new life with the people he loves. A spirited work of Japanese entertainment will be presented to the world.

MARCH COMES IN LIKE A LION stars Ryunosuke Kamiki, a popular young actor who has starred in THE GREAT YOKAI WAR (妖怪大戦争, Yokai Daisenso, 2005), THE KIRISHIMA THING (桐島、部活やめるってよ, Kirishima, Bukatsu Yamerutteyo, 2012) and the second and third chapters of the RUROUNI KENSHIN trilogy. His is also known for his anime voice work on acclaimed titles like SPIRITED AWAY (千と千尋の神隠し, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, 2001), HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE (ハウルの動く城, Hauru no Ugoku Shiro, 2004), ARRIETTY (借りぐらしのアリエッティ, Karigurashi no Arrietty, 2010), SUMMER WARS (サマーウォーズ, Samaa Woozu, 2009) and YOUR NAME. (君の名は。, Kimi no Na wa., 2016).

The MARCH COMES IN LIKE A LION movies are being released in Japan by Asmik Ace and Toho, with Toho handling sales to foreign distributors.

Rei Kiriyama is a 17-year-old professional shogi player who lives alone in the east side of Tokyo. He lost his parents and younger sister in a traffic accident when he was still a child, and kept playing shogi day in and day out as if to cling to it out of loneliness. As a result, he became a professional player at an exceptionally young age while still in junior high school. The shogi board with 81 rectangles in a grid was the only world he knew.

Then one day, he meets three sisters, Akari, Hinata, and Momo Kawamoto, who live in his neighborhood. For the first time he finds a place where he feels he belongs other than in front of a shogi board.

The world of professional shogi where players with fierce talent and intense passion survive and the welcoming dinner table of the Kawamoto family filled with warmth like a spot of sunlight. Through the many intense games in which Rei battles with his mind and his interactions with the warmhearted people he gradually learns to love, he makes a certain decision as a professional shogi player and also as a person.

About Toho Co., Ltd.

Founded in 1932 and headquartered in Tokyo, Toho Company, Ltd. is one of the leading entertainment conglomerates in Japan. Toho is best known worldwide as the producer of twenty-nine Godzilla motion pictures, based upon a character the company unleashed on the world back in 1954, and masterpiece films directed by Akira Kurosawa. Toho has been the number one distributor of motion pictures in Japan (both domestic and foreign) for eight consecutive years since 2003. The company is also, throughout Japan, the leading producer of theatrical works and one of the largest owners of office buildings and theaters.

About Asmik Ace Entertainment, Inc.

Asmik Ace produces and distributes theatrical films and home videos in Japan.